Thursday, November 15, 2007

This was the must have photo of the homebirth conference - to have your photo taken with the legendary Sheila Kitzinger was an opportunity too good to miss. Sheila is such a gracious woman and an inspiration. The very fist book I ever read on pregnancy and birth was written by Sheila. Also pictured in this photo is my friend and fellow independent midwife Robyn Dempsey (in the middle).

I had expected to write about the homebirth conference much sooner than this - but time has just gotten away (now that I'm working with women again and doing some casual shifts at the local hospital).

I must say I really enjoyed the conference. I just immersed myself in the atmosphere and listened to the speakers. It was fantastic networking and catching up with people I hadn't seen for ages. I have come away from the conference inspired. I have put together a slide show of the conference I've taken on my trusty digital camera - I hope you enjoy them.

Snapshots of the Homebirth Conference 2007

For me the highlight of the conference was the Gala Event and watching the documentary "The Business of Being Born". The only down side to the evening was some of the comments from the audience directed at Ricky Lake - they were inappropriate and I felt embarrassed (as did many people seated around me). It saddens me that homebirthers cannot join together in a united voice instead this dissenting one.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

One week a go I met the wonderful Ricki Lake. Ricki was in Australia to present a preview of her new documentary "The Business of Being Born". I got to see it (along with over 450 other people) at the the Homebirth conference in Sydney before it's official release in the United States this coming January.

What an incredible documentary - showing both the reality of birth and the possibility of what it could be like. I found the documentary both wonderfully encouraging and very sad all at the same time. This is a must see documentary. It has been dubbed 'The Inconvenient Truth' of birth.

You can view a trailer of the documentary here at the The Business of Being Born website. I believe this documentary has the ability to get message out about the sad state of health care for birthing women. With the power of a celebrity behind it, The Business of Being Born is bound to get noticed.

If you are interested in seeing this wonderful documentary - stay posted as I am trying to organise a screening in Parramatta Sydney.

Nic Edmondstone has produced this fantastic 30 second advertisement promoting midwifery called "Australian Women Deserve their own Midwife". The advertisement was entered into a completion and made finals. The advert has recently been uploaded to YouTube and is well worth watching.

About Me

In 1989 the birth of my first child was the start of my passion for pregnancy, birthing and babies. Initially I campaigned for improvement in maternity services as a consumer and became a childbirth educator running prenatal classes in the community. In 1991 I commenced studying at university completing a degree in nursing and followed by a graduate diploma in midwifery. I founded my business Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond in 1992. Registering as a midwife in 1997, I began working on a team midwifery program in a tertiary hospital and moved into private midwifery practice in 1999. Today, primarily, I support women birthing at home. I am passionate about midwives moving away from the hospital system and commencing private practice. It is through private midwifery practice that women will truly have continuity of care and real options for birth open to them. Part of my work now is supporting midwives taking the step into private practice. I also continue to be politically active lobbying for the rights of pregnant women and their families. I've dedicated my life to supporting families, as they move through the childbearing year.